The Harry Riser SAM #31 September 2011 Meeting Report More than twenty magicians of all ages made it to the combined SAM #31 and IBM Ring 10 meeting which was held at The Forum retirement center so that Harry Riser could be in attendance. The theme was favorite card tricks. As you can imagine, nearly everyone had a favorite card routine--except for a few hard and fast coin guys! Ten magicians performed and we saw everything from the classic Curry's Out of This World presented by George Nataros to a Stinky Card Trick created by Taylor Martin. Dee Saul did a variation of Larry Jennings' Invisible Palm, but added coins to the card effect. Significantly, out of the ten card routines, there was only one "pick a card" trick. A highlight of the evening was Harry Riser, our club's namesake, teaching us several one handed routines. Harry is recovering from his stroke and is still working on regaining function in his left arm and hand. Thus, he has developed right handed routines. He taught us the right thumb break and demonstrated other lessons in smooth card handling. As always, Harry's teaching was clear, to the point, and interspersed with interesting and relevant stories from his magic career. There was enlightening discussion regarding what makes card magic so compelling to magicians. Many of those attending noted what originally attracted them to cards.There was also dialog regarding the three moves most essential in card magic. The consensus was the double lift, the break and the false cut. An important observation made by Dee Saul is that card magic is like playing a guitar. It is easy to play it poorly, but is is very difficult and takes much practice to play it well. The other magicians who performed included Sean Hull, David Lee, Jay Newby, Joe Scott, Don Miller and Barry Rice. SAM #31 meets the first Monday of the month at 7:00 pm unless there is a conflict with a holiday weekend. Unless otherwise announced the meeting location is the Irvington United Methodist Church, 10 Audubon Road on the east side of the city. See our website for details: www.sam31.com.

The Harry Riser SAM #31 August 2011 Meeting Report The theme was sponge balls.  The evening was fun with much creativity on display.  Our Master of Ceremonies was Jim Croop.  As usual, he did a superb job, not only in leading the discussion and introducing the performers, but also leading off with Daryl's Papa Hits the Big Time sponge routine.  First he produced a rabbit from his hands at the audience's request. And then to show it was possible, he produced a bird. A rabbit in one hand.  A bird in the other.  They magically traded places.  But was it magic? No just an illusion as sponges could be either a rabbit or a bird. He introduced the 2 rabbits as the lady and the gentleman rabbit.  They mysteriously jumped from one hand to the other both in Jim's hands and an audience member's hand.  Ultimately, the lady and gentleman rabbit ended up together in the spectator's hands.  What happened next cannot be described in a family magazine.  Suffice it to say that the result was multiple little rabbits. Then Taylor Martin did a beautiful job with Al Goshman's "And Then There Were Four."   He followed up with multiple surprises as shapes changed, colors changed, and a cube became a dog.  He credited Hank Lee for that one.  As a finale, Taylor performed his Gloved Sponge Ball routine which he has been developing over the years.  We all were amazed. Taylor interspersed his magic with very helpful teaching tidbits, such as "make your sponges a little moist.  They will look and perform better."  He also demonstrated the preparation and use of the sanada gimmick. Chris Henderson closed the evening performance with a surprising and funny effect.  The two of clubs was randomly selected and returned to the deck.    After a shuffle and a few cuts, Chris then announced that he would find the card which was unknown to him.  With a flourish he produced the four of clubs. Close, but two pips too many.  Bummer!  He got out his instructions and looked them over. With a thump to the card, two sponge clubs fell out from the card!  Lo and behold, he really did end up with the selected two of clubs.

The Harry Riser SAM #31 July 2011 Meeting Report The theme was manipulation. The conversation was fascinating. Exactly what is manipulation, since all magic is manipulating something? To be successful with manipulation, a lot of work is required. Is the pay-off worth it? But first the newly elected officers for the 2011-2012 year were formally introduced and inducted. Three officers were reelected for another term--Steve Spence, president, Karen Miller, secretary, and Jay Newby, treasurer. Elected to new positions included Don Miller, 1st vice president, Taylor Martin, 2nd vice president, and Dale Benson, scribe. What followed was some outstanding magic, some responding to the manipulation theme, others on the "just for fun" theme.   KIcking it off was Master of Ceremonies Jim Croop entertaining us with the Elbow, Neck and Knee by Daryl.  Three coins magically transported from Jim's fist, one each to his elbow, knee and neck. Jack Weigle then did Jay Sankey's Practice Deck, where cards are kept secure on a shoestring.  Two selected cards were added back into the pack. With a quick tug, the only cards left on the shoestring where the two selected cards.  And the holes in all of the other cards had disappeared!   Taylor Martin did some beautiful manipulations--first with sponges--the ball became a square which became a "doggie." He then moved from sponges to Vernet's balls--three silver and one green. Finally he shared a version of the universal pop up move. This one with Dan Garret's carrots. Barry Rice told us of his most recent trip to Home Depot during which he purchased three nuts and then proceeded to do "All Screwed Up" from Doc Eason's Bar Magic video series. He persisted in tossing two into his left hand and putting one in his pocket. All three inevitably ended up in the left hand, one of them becoming a carriage bolt. He also asked for feedback on his new gambling routine. He got it. Daniel Lee did Andrew Main's Ghost Bill and Marcus Eddy's rubber bands stairway. It was amazing to watch that bill walk up the steps. Steve Spence did a very fun version of what he called the Cup of Deception. Was that die in the cup, in the hand or in the pocket? It was never where we expected and the finale was a huge surprise. JIm Croop, our master of ceremonies, once again took the spotlight and set up a poker game with five players and five cards each. There is not enough space to describe what happened, but as you might expect, he was able to mentally discern a randomly selected card from each of the other four players. And finally, Mike Kohrman did a very smooth game of deuces with his Restless Colors. The cards turned all kinds of colors and all he had to do was to "rub it" and "shake it." Both the Indianapolis magic clubs, SAM #31 and IBM #10, have decided to try meeting together. This was the first fully combined meeting. It was a rousing success. On August 1 SAM #31 will meet at Wile Hall on the Methodist Hospital campus at 7:00 pm. On September 12 we will be meeting at the Forum at the Crossing at the same time. Contact president Steve Spence for details, sspence@mediationalternative.com.

Our first annual SAM 31 magic competition took place on Monday, May2nd. First Place receives $100, a framed certificate, and an invitation to perform at the 8/2 Indy Magic Monthly. Second Place receives $50 and a certificate. There will be a Peoples Choice voted by the audience, and all participants will received a certificate. The first contestant was Daniel Lee, with his wife Heather accompanying him on the piano. His silent routine included finding the aces in a full deck, transporting coins invisibly, and torn and restored sheet music, much to his wife's chagrin. He ended by changing a multi-color scarf to a black one to compliment her outfit. Next up was Corbett Troyer who magically moved 4 coins out of a coin box, and then sent them back in again. He also found the aces placed throughout a deck, then transported them from 4 different packets back together again. Excellent coin and card work! Don Miller shared his comedy magic, and ways to make a visit to the dentist more exciting. Then he brought Rob and Barb up, having Rob attempt to transmit his chosen card to the audience. He resorted to his Telopothy kit for items to assist Rob, to no avail, then he had Barb attempt it too, letting her borrow a wand and magic cloth. After checking out how good they looked, they got the image of the seven of Diamonds across, along with lots of laughs. Chris Henderson shared the story of his Grandparents love through many anniversary celebrations, and how Grandpa would dress up with a starched collar and bow tie. He showed an array of colored ties, and had young Dr. Lemon help with a color wheel for the selection of tie, now that Grandma had passed. The red was noted on the wheel, and the red tie was then missing from the box. It was found attached to the starched collar! The next contestant was Barry Rice, who enjoyed being able to say 'don't try this at home!' He proceeded to show 10 razor blades, proving their sharpness with paper and apple, and then swallowing them, one at a time. After swallowing a length of dental floss, he extracted the floss with all ten razor blades dangling from it! Jim Croop shared how advertising and magic are similar with his 'Magic of Influence.' He influenced the audience to select a card from a blank deck, and it was the only printed card in it. Then he had Steve select a oversized card, then, before he looked at it, select a card from a regular deck and the cards matched. Dr. Lemon and Shawn Hull (son and father) closed out the competition with some juggling, some lie detector work, and a card prediction for Jay. Then Dr. Lemon made a lemon and a bottle of lemonade change positions! The judges, Shawn Anthony of Las Vegas; Christopher Bontjes, National 1st Vice President of SAM ; Taylor Martin and Sean Scott, both from Indianapolis; retired to tabulate their scores, and the audience submitted their selections for the People's Choice. The results were: People's Choice to Daniel and Heather Lee, First Place to Barry Rice, and Second Place to Corbett Troyer.

We have begun to provide links to useful sites. You can find them by clicking on the Links page of this website. Any suggestions which you might have for additional links will be appreciated. Forward your suggestions to President Spence, sspence@mediationalternative.com.

All the Right Moves at Assembly #31

Indianapolis, Indiana

The theme for our March 1 meeting was â??All the Right Movesâ??â??different presentations or different moves used to perform the same trick.  As a bonus, a second theme was â??Off the Shelf--that Magic Book I Just Readâ??. It turned out to be a fascinating evening with great tricks performed, educational discussions about â??movesâ??, and interesting presentations regarding magic books.

Barry Rice, with his entertaining stage presence, performed Jay Sankeyâ??s â??I Have a Hunchâ??.  He also performed a Simon Lovell effect from Million Dollar Miracles.  Jim Croop stumped us all with Paul Hallisâ?? â??One for Roviâ??. Jay Newby shared with us his original cups and balls set along with his routine from his youth (a long time ago, by the way).  Jay also performed a mind control mystery and a surprising color changing CDâ??s routine. Don Miller shared his Mikame Ball Con and, at his request, received good input from the group regarding presentation ideas.  Dee Saul shared his â??contrarianâ?? version of two different card manipulationsâ??the glide and the three card push off.

As is his custom, Taylor Martin provided fascinating historical snippets, this time sharing with us Breslewâ??s Last Legacy published in 1811.  Along with the book Taylor produced a deck of cards from the fifteen hundreds and proceeded to change four aces into four knaves.  He then discussed, and demonstrated, the props from the Discoverie of Witchcraft set.  Before he finished we all knew the original meanings of hocus pocus and abracadabra!

Two other â??off the shelfâ?? presentations were shared by Don Miller and Phil Dubbs.  Don had a prepublication copy of Campfire Magic by Mac King.  Phil passed around his copy of Magic for Everyone by Heseward Currington, copyright 1920.

To top off the evening, at least for Don Miller, this monthâ??s door prize, a Real Magic DVD, was won by Don Miller!

Submitted by: Dale Benson, Secretary

March 2010

Harry E. Riser Assembly No. 31, usually meets the first Monday of the month at 7 pm at the Irvington United Methodist Church, 30 N. Audubon Road,  Indianapolis.

Assembly #31â??s â?? Night at the Moviesâ??

Indianapolis, Indiana

It was a â??night at the moviesâ?? for Assembly 31 in February.  The idea was to bring video clips of magic in movies or to bring tricks that the members had seen performed in movies.  It turned out to be a fun and interesting evening, even though, with a decided lack of â??geeksâ?? in our audience, figuring out how to hook up the video projector turned out to be a big time project.  We needed a bit of technical magic which, unfortunately, was not forthcoming.

Chris Henderson did a nice precognition routine utilizing the introduction to Star Wars.â??  Tom Winterrowd then described Danteâ??s magic performance in Laurel and Hardyâ??s A Hunting We Will Go.  Steve Spence shared excerpts from Doug Henningâ??s The Magic Show.  Taylor Martin then played a portion of the first television special of magic in 1957.  It included the only live performance by Cardini ever recorded.  Robert Harbin was also on the show.

The second half of the evening was for our members to perform.  Tom Winterrowd, dressed with top hat and cigar,  performed The Lazy Magician.  First he provided a detailed and fascinating historical account of his favorite magicianâ??Harry A. Jansen (Dante) who was, by the way, a partner of Howard Thurston.  Dante traveled with more than twenty backdrops for his show.  Tom first saw Dante at the English Theatre (which no longer exists) in Indianapolis in 1941.  Tom was 14 years old at the time!  Steve Spence talked about Kreskin and the great Buck Howard and then concluded our evening of magic by expertly performing Dean Dillâ??s The Revelation.

Submitted by: Dale Benson, Secretary

February 2010

Harry E. Riser Assembly No. 31, usually meets the first Monday of the month at 7 pm at the Irvington United Methodist Church, 30 N. Audubon Road,  Indianapolis.

Assembly #31â??s â??Out of the Boxâ?? Night

Indianapolis, Indiana

It was â??out of the boxâ?? night at our October Assembly 31 night.  The idea was to bring a new trick, give it a try, and receive tips and feedback from the members regarding presentation and technique.  There was much discussion and many excellent pointers for each of the tricks presented throughout the evening.

Sid Griffiths asked for input regarding his version of 21.  Taylor Martin demonstrated both the Okido box and the Coin from the Top of the Hand.  He also discussed Four coins and a Card---a Paul Harris trick from the Magical Arts Journal.  Chris Henderson did a â??Tarbell Card Nightâ?? with a very well done series of card sleights.  Neither Taylor nor Chris needed any help, as their performances were excellent.  Such was not the case for immediate past president, Steve Spence, who brought his Boston Box.  The group was kind though, and gave him a number of pointers.  The final performer for the evening was Joe Scott, who did Bubby Kneelâ??s Psychic Card trick found in The Scribe column in the October issue of the MUM.  He told us it was one of the first tricks he ever learned decades ago.

Many thought provoking tips were scattered throughout the performances.  Here are several:  â??Donâ??t overproduce a trick. Avoid tendency to over talk.  Patter needs to be compelling for tricks without a surprise ending.  Make eye contact when doing the secret move.  If you are left handed, it is helpful to read the instructions and practice the trick in front of a mirror.  We need to find things that are not magical and make them magic.â??

Taylor Martin even confessed to standing in the bathtub with the shower curtain pulled when he practices his coin magic.  It helps to keep the stray coins more accessible.

The evening turned out to be an educational session for all.

Submitted by: Dale Benson, Secretary

October 2009

Harry E. Riser Assembly No. 31, usually meets the first Monday of the month at 7 pm at the Irvington United Methodist Church, 30 N. Audubon Road,  Indianapolis.

Assembly #31â??s Night of Tribute to Harry Riser

Indianapolis, Indiana

Our August Assembly #31 meeting was a very special event.  As you may have heard, our Assembly namesake, Harry Riser, suffered a stroke six months ago.  Although his spirit is great, and he is recovering, he has been unable to attend our Assembly meetings.  And so, we went to Harry.  We held our monthly meeting in the lounge of the Forum Retirement Community on the north side of Indianapolis.

The turnout for the meeting was outstanding.  Everyone wanted the opportunity to participate in a tribute to Harry.   Harry was there in his motorized chair with stories to tell and thoughtful reflections to share.

Our president, Chris Wilcox, in a moving ceremony, presented a framed â??Lifetime Membership Certificateâ?? to Harry.  Harry responded that he always tried to help people who came to him.  He mentioned specifically such names as Johnny Thompson and Mike Close.  He concluded his response by saying, â??I have tried to be as good for magic as magic has been for me.â??

Later in the evening Harry shared a fascinating account about one of his early encounters with Cardini.  He was introduced to Cardini by Charlie Miller.  This led to an interesting story of Cardiniâ??s rising card effect which he liked to do on cruise ships.

A number of members then performed tricks which Harry had either taught them or helped them with.  Immediate past president, Steve Spence, did the Malini Egg Bag described in one of Harryâ??s books.  He started out by announcing that Harry had helped him work on this trick.

Dee Saul then performed his streamlined version of Alex Elmsleyâ??s CollinSpell Four Ace trick.  He acknowledged Harry Riserâ??s mentoring of his Faro shuffling skills.

Shawn Hull informed us that the first really great ball and vase routine that he had seen was Harry Riserâ??s version.  Shawn then introduced us to his entire ball and vase collectionâ??many of which were created in other countries.

Three bonuses for the evening were Taylor Martin with his story and demonstration about how the light and heavy chest phenomenon helped prevent a revolution, John West doing some astounding coin magic and a fun two deck card mystery loosely based on Pit Hartlingâ??s Two Deck Prediction, and Barry Rice demonstrating how to make a card trick interesting by regurgitating the selected card.

Submitted by: Dale Benson, Secretary

August 2009

Harry E. Riser Assembly No. 31, usually meets the first Monday of the month at 7 pm at Mystic Tie Lodge (2^nd floor), corner of Illinois and North Street, Indianapolis.

A Routining Night at Assembly #31

Indianapolis, Indiana

It was a busy evening at our June Harry Riser Assembly #31 meeting.  We elected and installed officers for the coming year, inducted four new members into our Assembly, and invested a fascinating hour discussing the art of routining. 

Newly elected officers include Chris Wilcox, President; Mike Engle, Vice President; Dale Benson, Secretary; Jay Newby, Treasurer; and Ulises Galeano, Sergeant-at-Arms.  Our officers were dutifully sworn in with the prescribed number of â??I wills.â??

We then proceeded to induct four new membersâ??Ulises Galeano, Karen Oâ??Connor, Dan Devine and Dale Benson.  In addition to the induction ceremony, each was asked to perform a trick or give a brief historical report.  Ulises Galeano did a very nice coin routine which he said was inspired by Homer Liwagâ??s â??Coin in Twoâ?? routine.  Karen Oâ??Conner shared a very sweet story of a

motherâ??s love for three daughters while smoothly performing the Professorâ??s Nightmare.  And Dan Devine combined his magic effect (straight out of Martinâ??s Miracles by Eric C. Lewis) with a nice bit of origami.  Dale Benson was accepted by virtue of presenting an extensive history of the Torn and Restored Newspaper at the previous monthâ??s meeting. 

As a bonus, member Chris Henderson performed Sid Fleishmanâ??s â??You Too Can Have X-ray Eyesâ?? from his book, The Charlatanâ??s Handbook.

What followed was a fascinating conversation regarding routining by what became a panel of several of our most experienced membersâ??Don Miller, Taylor Martin and Tom Winterrowd.  Retiring President, Steve Spence, facilitated the discussion.  Tom Winterrowd drew from his 65 years of magic experience.  Taylor Martin provided a number of tips including deciding who your character is before you do your routine and constantly tightening your show.  Don Miller shared his list of â??pet peevesâ?? regarding routining, turning each pet peeve into a significant piece of learning.

We concluded the evening with a surprise gift from the Executive Committee. We just completed our Year of the Classic.  Throughout the year, one of our members had been preparing a fourteen page, spiral bound, full color booklet with photos and narrative from each of our classic meetings.  It was a well  received souvenir of a fun and educational year.

Submitted by: Dale Benson, Secretary

June 2009

Harry E. Riser Assembly No. 31, usually meets the first Monday of the month at 7 pm at Mystic Tie Lodge (2^nd floor), corner of Illinois and North Street, Indianapolis.